49ers touchdowns against Cardinals came at a price

Anyway, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-13 in the regular season finale last Sunday. A close game in the first half, the 49ers took it to the Cardinals over the game's final 30 minutes.

In all, receiver Michael Crabtree scored a pair of touchdowns while running back Frank Gore tallied one. As part of their respective celebrations, each player threw the football into the stands.

As it turns out, footballs are expensive.

According to CSNBayArea.com, the players were fined for tossing the footballs away.

The well-meaning gesture came at a price, though. Both players were fined $10,500 by the NFL, according to a league spokesman.

The league considers it fan safety issue to have players throw football into the stands, as opposed to handing the ball or tossing it to a fan, which is allowed. The NFL does not want fans fighting over a football.

Fortunately for both Crabree and Gore, their contracts are paying them hefty sums. However, that probably won't do much to dull the pain.